ONC proposes new rules for Cures Act implementation, certifications and more

The agency hopes the NPRM provisions will further move the needle on interoperability, expanding "appropriate access, exchange and use of electronic health information" with an eye toward health equity, said the National Coordinator for Health IT.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT announced a new proposed rule on Tuesday, containing new statutory language for further implementation and certification criteria of the 21st Cures Act. 

The rule – Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing, or HTI-1 – will be published next week in the Federal Register.

WHY IT MATTERS

National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi, speaking at an online press conference announcing the new rule, said it was an exciting day for ONC to release the work on the rules around electronic health record certification and interoperability.

The new rule would address the foundational aspects of four key ONC priorities, he said: building the digital foundation of health record information; making interoperability easy; promoting information sharing and ensuring proper use of digital health tools. 

According to ONC, some key proposals in the NPRM include:

• Making the Electronic Health Record Reporting Program a new condition of certification for developers of certified health IT.
• Expanding and modifying exceptions to information blocking regulations to support wider information sharing.
• Revising some certification criteria – including rules around clinical decision support, patient demographics and observations, electronic case reporting and APIs for patient and population services.
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